After almost 20 years, Minnesotan David Housewright brings back private investigator Holland Taylor in “Darkness Sing Me a Song.”

Taylor’s name might not be familiar to fans of Housewright’s 14 mysteries featuring wealthy former cop Rushmore “Mac” McKenzie. But Holland Taylor came first.

In 1995 Housewright hit the big time right out of the box by winning Mystery Writers of America’s prestigious Edgar award for “Penance,” his fast-paced debut novel featuring Taylor, an ex-cop whose career in the department ended after his wife and daughter were killed in a drunk-driving accident.

Taylor lives in Roseville, as does Housewright. I described the private investigator in a review as a man “who doesn’t swagger onto crime scenes, he respects the police, he’s a Vikings and Twins fan and he isn’t world-weary, alcoholic or cynical.” Housewright describes him as “my traditional trench coat detective.”

Housewright followed his debut with Taylor cases “Practice to Deceive” (1997), winner of a Minnesota Book Award, and “Dearly Departed” (1999).

In “Darkness Sing Me a Song,” Taylor is working for the hotshot attorney representing socialite Eleanor Barrington, accused of murdering her son’s fiancee, Emily Denys. A credible witness claims to have seen the shooting and Barrington’s son is making disgusting sexual accusations against his mother. Eleanor’s spoiled, underage daughter is much too friendly with Taylor, who tries to avoid her. As Taylor begins to investigate Emily’s background, he discovers she lied about her name and background. The search sends him to a small town in Wisconsin where emotional citizens are divided about a fracking company that’s sending clouds of dust into homes and leaving huge holes in the land. He also has to deal with a scary bunch of trigger-happy white supremacists who have a camp in the woods.

In Taylor’s personal life, he’s still grieving for his wife and daughter. The story is told in the first person, so readers know what’s going on in Taylor’s mind, which is filled with regret about distancing himself from the world:

“I shed my friends the way you would change from a summer wardrobe to winter, a little at a time — quitting the cops to work in a one-man office, retiring from various softball and hockey teams, ignoring my family, passing on invitations to parties and barbecues until they stopped coming, spending my days solving the problems of strangers so I didn’t have to deal with my own. That had changed when Cynthia came into my life, but only for a time.”

He’s referring to Cynthia Grey, with whom he tried to live twice, both times breaking up after realizing they weren’t compatible. Grey, a former drug addict, is now a successful attorney working for the fracking firm.

Housewright grew up in the Desnoyer Park neighborhood near Town and Country Club. A graduate of Cretin, he majored in journalism and English at the College of St. Thomas. After newspaper reporting jobs in Minneapolis, Owatonna, Albert Lea and Grand Forks, N.D., he co-owned a successful advertising agency in Minneapolis.

Housewright is applauded for keen sense of place in his writing, especially in and around the Twin Cities.

“It was intentional that Holland be a Minnesota kind of guy,” he told the Pioneer Press when “Penance” was published.

“A lot of characters in all genres could be from anywhere. I wanted my guy to be from a place. Holland is sort of an Everyman. In many ways he’s just an average guy with few pretensions. The only unique thing about him is what he does for a living. He knows about crime, but also about the world in general, the way things work and don’t work. One of the things that’s always angered me about the mystery genre is that some characters seem to have skills and talents that can’t be accounted for. With Holland, I try to let people know what he knows before he does something.”

Why did Holland Taylor disappear in 1999?

Because Housewright got caught in the volatility of the publishing world in those years. After his first publisher was bought by Norton, no editor took a personal interest in him or his books. He became an orphan in a big publishing house that he thinks didn’t have much interest in having a mystery genre presence.

So he began shopping for a new publisher, and although several expressed interest, no one wanted to pick up an ongoing series. Since Housewright understands the vagaries of the business world, he didn’t give up. Instead, he created Mac McKenzie, whose most recent case, “What the Dead Leave Behind,” was published this fall. His next adventure, tentatively titled “Like to Die,” will be out in June.

Housewright credits Otto Penzler of MysteriousPress.com for talking him into releasing the original Taylor novels in ebook format. “That, and so many fans buying so many copies, is what inspired us to continue the series,” he writes on his home page.

Readers who remember Holland Taylor will enjoy meeting him again, and newcomers to the series will have fun becoming acquainted with this oh-so-Minnesota guy.

Mary Ann joined the Dispatch-Pioneer Press in 1961 when there were two papers. She has been a fashion writer, a women's columnist and the women's department editor who brought "society" pages into the 20th century. She was named book editor in 1983, just when the local literary community exploded. She has won the Minnesota Book Awards Kay Sexton Award, a Page One Award and YWCA Leader Lunch Award. She retired in 2001 and works part time. A graduate of Macalester College, she lives on St. Paul's West Side in a money-sucking Victorian house with assorted old animals.

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